Seeing it again for the first time

Finally on the mend. I got the go ahead from the doctor to get back to life now. Phew, I was going rather stir crazy and will be happy to see my students on Monday.
The hospital here is wonderful. I've noticed that doctors give out vitamins and natural medications along with western medecines. If they give out an antibiotic, they always give out a probiotic with it. The only medications that I've had for the Hep are vitamins and some things to help with nausea. So that's been great. Also, there is really good information sharing at the hospital. They basically gave me a copy of my file which they add all of my receipts to. Test results are posted online within 24 hours and I can access them using my patient number. Physio, GP's, the pharmacy, the centre for obesity etc. can all be found at the hospital. It's a great system.
As soon as I got the clearance, I went off on a little adventure. Melissa's Dad is here visiting and so the three of us went to Elephanta Island. It's a historical wonder. Elephanta Island has caves which are guessed to have been carved around 600AD with massive wall carvings and statues of Shiva in His various forms. There are also carvings of other Gods and families of Gods which together, depict a very sophysticated and complex Faith based system that was the foundation of the society. Of course, each God has a myriad of stories connected with it which I will be processing and learning about for awhile. Seeing the awe inspiring caves and carvings was such a humbling experience.
There were 7 caves on the island. The main one is a 130 feet chamber very carefully carved into the side of a stone mountain. The chamber is supported by rows of massive stone pillars which rest on a square base and have a cushion like capital. Within the chamber there are 9 carvings. The most glorous of which is of the supreme Shiva, fully manifest, with three heads. He is surrounded by dwarf attendant figures and figures of yogis. The Shiva figure is 8.3 meters high and rests in a recess 3.2 meters deep and 6.55 meters wide. The detail of the hair, jewelery and serene face is astounding.
The entrance to the cave is gaurded by two statues. One of Shiva as Lord of Dancers and one of Shiva as Lord of Yogis (yogesvara). The tour book that we bought says "[A]s yogevara, he is the supreme master of all yogic disciplines, as well as the teacher of all the arts that give expression to an understanding and realisation of ultimate reality." How could I not love this statement and what is conveys. These are the two forms of Shiva that were chosen to gaurd the doorway to the most sacred space of this ancient culture. The power of mindful art making is something that was deeply respected and it reminded me that art does in fact have the power to move an entire civilisation.
Unfortunately, the cave was used as a firing range for the portugeuse at some point and quite a bit of damage was caused. But, the awesomeness of the place is very evident and people still bring flowers as offerings to the Gods.
To get to the island, we took the train down to Kolaba where boats leave from The Gateway to India. I was so happy to get out in the world that while riding in the ladies coach, I delighted in the sight of the women beautifully wrapped up in colourful saris with thick braids down their backs. They all jingle when they walk from their rows of bangels and anklets and flowers are neatly tucked into their hair.
After a day of trecking, I was happy to treat myself to a cab on the way home rather than take the busy train. I could have lounged in the cab for hours and never tired of gazing out the window at the diversity of sights that is Mumbai. Giant billboards stuck to the top of buildings; tiny shops and vendors spilling fruit, vegetables and fish into the streets; old brick buildings; houses made of cloth; people walking their dogs; young girls washing clothes on the side of the highway; school children with perfectly pressed and matching uniforms, bikes and rickshaws and trains and fancy cars. Everyone living together.
So much happens in a day here and life is bursting.
My roomates are going back to Canada within days and they truely are mourning. Though they're very happy to have had the experience, I think it's taking a little mental preparation to say goodbye. Che is a true world traveller and yet he declared the other day that this particular trip was everything. That's because India is everything. And, I'm only getting started:)